Constituency watch: Phillaur

By Deepkamal Kaur

Falling along the Sutlej, Phillaur is one of the rural Assembly constituencies of Jalandhar district. The seat is currently represented by Akali Dal MLA. The seat has been shuffling between the SAD and Congress for the past four decades. A reserved constituency, it has a sizable presence of the Dalit community. The multi-cornered contest this time makes the politics on the seat quite interesting. Here are the main candidates from the seat:

Principal Prem Kumar
Party: Aam Aadmi Party
Age: 60 years
Qualification: MA, M.Ed, NIS Sports

Background: He served as a lecturer and Principal in government schools of Phillaur and Jalandhar from 1992-2015. He served as District Education Officer, Jalandhar, from 2015-18. A trained weightlifter, he has set up an academy in Phillaur, where he is residing since 1994. Having joined AAP since his retirement, he has worked for the party’s intellectual wing too.

Priorities:
1. Providing bus stand in Phillaur, Goraya
2. Ensuring staff in govt schools
3. ROB on Goraya railway track

Ajay Phillaur
Party: Sanyukt Samaj Morcha
Age: 32 years
Qualification: LLM

Background: A lawyer by profession, he is also the vice-president of Bar Association of Phillaur. Having a communist background, he is general secretary of the Punjab Students’ Federation. He is also one of the main leaders of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Naujawan Sabha. He remained closely associated with the farmers going to kisan morcha in the past one year.

Priorities:
1. Bringing in industry for more employment
2. Setting up a medical college in Phillaur
3. Campaign against drug abuse

Vikramjit Chaudhary
Party: Indian National Congress
Age: 44
Qualification: Graduate

Background: He is the former Punjab Youth Congress president. He is also the son of sitting Congress MP Chaudhary Santokh Singh. He is in fray for the second time as he lost poll by 3,500 votes in 2017 from this seat. His father has been MLA from here in 1992, 2002, but lost in 2012, 2007 and 1997.

Priorities:
1. Setting up multi-specialty hospital
2. Setting up hockey stadium in Lasara village
3. Setting up a government college

Baldev Khaira
Party: Shiromani Akali Dal
Age: 42
Qualification: Graduate

Background: He is the sitting MLA of the constituency. He started his political career from zila parishad elections. He contested from the seat in 2012 as the BSP candidate. He had then polled over 42K votes but had finished a close third. He joined Shiromani Akali Dal in 2016, months ahead of the 2017 Assembly poll.

Priorities:
1. To focus on small scale industry for women
2. Mini-secretariat in Phillaur
3. Construction of railway overbridges, school, hospital

Sarwan S Phillaur
Party: SAD (Sanyukt) (yet to be formally announced)
Age: 74 years
Qualification: Graduate

Background: He is a five-time SAD MLA from Phillaur from 1977-85, 1997 and 2007. His sixth tenure as MLA was from Kartarpur in 2012. He has lost only once in 2002. He was made to resign as a minister in 2014. He quit SAD in 2016 and joined the Congress. He joined SAD (Sanyukt) two days back.

Priorities:
1. To control law and order problem
2. To put an end to commission system in govt departments
3. To improve health facilities

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